Displaying items by tag: Brewers Association

Michigan’s craft beverage industry is facing a challenge with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic that is unlike any other in its history. 

While craft beverage industry insiders expect more deals ahead nationally in 2020, the market in Michigan may be poised to level off. 

WALKER — The owners of 1983 Brewing Company LLC are one step closer to opening Walker’s second brewery. 

Two West Michigan craft brewers operating with vastly differing business models are taking a similar approach to growing their operations by using capacity at other breweries. Both Sawyer-based Greenbush Brewing Co. and Muskegon-based Rake Beer Project LLC are taking advantage of a production model that allows them to get beer into the market without a significant upfront capital investment.

A group of investors plans to open a commercial-scale malting and grain-processing facility about an hour east of Kalamazoo to serve the region’s growing craft beverage industry.

With the craft brewing industry continuing to grow — albeit slower than just a few years ago — many West Michiganbased equipment suppliers are honing their product niches to get ahead of any future market corrections.

On the label of a recently released pale ale, New Belgium Brewing Co. proclaims “Hops and hemp reign — together at last.” 

The meteoric rise of Michigan’s craft brewing industry has spawned the creation of hundreds of new companies in communities all over the state. 

Stroll through the beer aisle at some West Michigan grocery supercenters and you might notice a bit of gold tucked between the red, white and blue cases of Budweiser and MillerCoors brands. 

Muskegon’s Pigeon Hill Brewing Co. is embarking on ambitious expansion plans as the company wrestles with how best to compete in the highly volatile industry.

GRAND RAPIDS — As the craft beer industry continues to grow, it’s contributing to more economic activity in Michigan, both within the sector and its expanding supply chain. 

After a frenzied period of M&A activity for craft breweries, industry insiders and investors expect the pace of deals to moderate in the near future.

MUSKEGON — A startup business on the lakeshore is helping craft brewers globally to diversify the mix of packaged products they can sell via their taprooms.

Michigan craft breweries have only just started to sell their beer in international markets, but many in the industry believe exporting could soon become an important diversification strategy.

Proposed federal budget cuts have the potential to wipe out key hop and barley research programs that have helped improve the quality of the raw material supply chain for craft brewers.

Dynamics within the maturing craft beer industry are creating new growth opportunities for suppliers.

Saugatuck Brewing Co. thought it was being edgy in 2011 when it coined the name “Hop on a Blonde” for its new blonde ale.

Thirsty Michigan craft beer consumers bought the equivalent of around 59,000 more pints of Brewery Vivant’s beer in 2016 than they did the year before.

Contrary to a report in an international brewery trade publication, Founders Brewing Co. has no plans to repurchase some of its shares from its Spanish investors.

As the four partners developed the business plan for Creston Brewery, they faced a key decision that would define the future direction of their company.

Changes to the federal tax code implemented at the beginning of the year could alleviate burdensome financial and bureaucratic rules for many craft beverage makers. 

For Mark Sellers, the magic number of sorts is $300.

As New Holland Brewing Co. LLC ramps up a major expansion into the Grand Rapids market that’s expected to open next month, President and co-founder Brett Vanderkamp has plenty to keep his mind occupied. 

When Deschutes Brewery founder Gary Fish launched a two-year search to locate the Oregon company’s first satellite production facility, one of his top criteria was determining whether the state and local community wanted his business.

Pioneers of the craft brewing industry face a steep challenge from the growing market they helped establish. 

If ever there was a sign that the craft beer business has matured, it’s that the money has finally showed up and taken an interest in the industry.

A year and a half after launching Railtown Brewing Co. in Dutton, Justin Buiter and Gim Lee realized their craft brewery needed to expand well ahead of schedule. 

With its 348 barrels of beer produced last year, Newaygo Brewing Co. accounted for less than 1 percent of all craft beer made in Michigan in 2015.

Founders Brewing Co. now ranks among the top 20 U.S. breweries by sales volume for 2015, a list that includes both craft brewers and large domestic producers.

As craft beer exports present consistent growth opportunities for American producers, internationally-distributing companies such as Grand Rapids-based Founders Brewing Co. note that overseas markets are making up an ever-increasing portion of their sales.